In a large bowl, combine oil, vanilla, sour cream, heavy cream, and eggs. Then mix in the boxed cake mix, cocoa powder, and espresso powder, if using.

Scoop the batter into cupcake liners and bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Make sure the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

In a stand mixer, whip butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

While mixer is running, add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time.

Next, add vanilla extract, heavy cream, and salt, mixing until well combined.

Then add the food coloring. To get the Christmas tree color, I used 80 drops of green, 12 drops of blue and a little bit of black.

Add frosting to a pastry bag and fit with a 1M piping tip. Build the frosting up in a continuous circular motion to create the tree shape.

Place an edible star at the top of each, decorate with colored sprinkles, and then dust with powdered sugar to ‘flock’ your trees.